U.S.-Poland Deal on Missile Base Riles Russia

By

Daniel Michaels

Updated Aug. 21, 2008 12:01 a.m. ET

The U.S. signed a pledge to protect Poland as part of a missile-shield deal, cementing the former East bloc country's ties with Washington but thrusting it into the middle of a widening dispute with Russia.

The deal signed in Warsaw Wednesday to establish a battery of U.S. interceptor rockets on Polish soil is part of President George W. Bush's plans to develop an intercontinental missile-defense shield. The shield's stated aim is to protect the U.S. and its allies from attacks by U.S.-deemed "rogue states" such as Iran and North Korea.

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U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, both seated, signed a missile-defense deal in Warsaw Wednesday.
Reuters

But Washington's deal with Warsaw is likely to widen the gulf with Moscow, which fears the missile-defense system will be used as an offensive weapon against Russia. After the deal was signed, Russia's Foreign Ministry warned that Moscow's response to development of the planned missile base "will go beyond diplomacy," the Associated Press reported.

The signing by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski came a day after the U.S., Poland and other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization military alliance pledged to help Georgia, which is reeling from a Russian military incursion.

Russian military officials have in the past said Poland -- which shares a border with Russia and was occupied or dominated by Russia for most of the last century -- risked being attacked if the missiles were stationed on its territory.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk hailed the agreement as "a breakthrough in the security of Poland and United States." For Poland, the deal is even more significant because the country clinched a number of concessions: Warsaw overcame initial resistance by the U.S. to put Patriot missiles capable of shooting down short-range rockets in Poland to complement the missile interceptors. Warsaw also got the U.S. to agree to help fund a modernization of Poland's outdated military equipment, in addition to the U.S. pledge to come to Poland's defense if it is menaced by other countries.

The bilateral security agreement "affirms the commitment of the United States to the security of Poland and of any U.S. facilities located on the territory of Poland," the U.S. State Department said in a statement.

Zbigniew Brzezinski, a Polish-born former U.S. national security adviser to President Jimmy Carter who spoke with U.S. and Polish officials during the talks, said the security deal is a watershed in the two countries' relationship.

"This changes the strategic relationship between the U.S. and Poland," he said in an interview. "There is a clear and explicit understanding that if there are negative consequences of stationing the missile shield, the U.S. will come to Poland's defense."

Talks between Poland and the U.S. on the missile deal began more than a year ago, but a deal was only finalized in recent weeks. When the Czech Republic, for example, in July agreed to let the U.S. base interceptors on its territory, Warsaw held out.

Until recently, Polish public opinion polls indicated a majority of citizens opposed the plan because they feared it would increase chances of being attacked. Prime Minister Tusk expressed wariness about the system when he took office in November. Like a growing number of Poles, Mr. Tusk wanted the country to deepen security ties with its allies in the European Union.

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The missile deal signed by Rice and Sikorski came in the wake of NATO's pledge to help Georgia.
Associated Press

Most Poles see the U.S. as their strongest ally, especially after two centuries of invasions and partitioning by Russia, Germany and other European powers. But Polish doubts about the missile system were fueled by growing resentment toward the U.S.

Poland has worked to curry favor with the U.S. since the end of Communist rule in 1989, supporting the U.S. in conflicts ranging from the two Gulf Wars to a 1994 military action in Haiti. But many Poles recently felt the U.S. wasn't reciprocating sufficiently. The Polish government, for example, asked the U.S. to relax strict entry-visa requirements for Poles, and Washington's unwillingness to do so became a sore point in relations.

When U.S.-Polish talks on the missile shield began, America's initial negotiating position offered few extras. U.S. officials said the system would boost Poland's security. Over recent months, Messrs. Tusk and Sikorski pushed hard to negotiate the other parts of the deal, including the Patriot missiles and the broader security pact.

U.S officials initially balked at the requests, say people familiar with the talks, arguing Poland was already protected by NATO's mutual-defense agreement. Poles countered that NATO would be insufficient in a crisis, because getting all 26 members to agree on action could take too long.

Nonetheless, some analysts are skeptical the U.S. would today put itself at risk to defend Poland, particularly after Washington's muted response in Georgia. Alastair Cameron, head of the European Security Program at Britain's Royal United Services Institute, a London think tank, said Poland depending on U.S. intervention "is as much of a gamble as the Georgians took when they depended on U.S. support."

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